𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐊⠀ ⁽ ¹ ⁾

BETRAYAL

By the time I wake up I feel extremely groggy. Allison isn't lying next to me anymore, instead, there's a blanket covering my waist. Sitting up was more of a challenge than I expected it to be. My joints pop and the white bandages wrapped around me make me look and feel like a mummy.

Pushing off the blanket, I set one foot after another onto the stone floor and feel the shiver coursing up my spine. "That girl of yours," I hear, and glance over seeing Gates sitting on the floor in the cage watching me. "She threatened my life if I ever touched you again." A hint of a grin works its way onto my face. Trying to balance my wobbling stance, my energy still hasn't returned. Strange. "It's part of her charm."

Slowly making my way towards the cage, Gates stands. "You really shouldn't be moving on your own." Reaching out to the bars I cling to them for dear life, my arm wrapped around my chest. "Why do you think I'm coming to you?" Something doesn't feel right, my wounds should've been healed after a good night's sleep so why didn't they?

Heavy breaths send me on high alert, my body feeling colder by the second, but I feel extremely warm at the same time. Looking up I notice the keys on the work bench. I take them, unlocking the lock on the cage. Just as I do, my knees buckle out from under me as I slump against the metal.

But I can feel Gate's arms on my shoulders turning me over. "Kid, you're shaking badly." He points out, one hand at my back and the palm of his hand against my forehead. "You've got a fever." Then he looks down, his hand stroking the areas where the tranquilizers had hit me. I look down also, and notice the black and blue spots I had brushed off as bruises look predominately worse. "I didn't think they both would shoot you. They weren't meant to."

Looking up to him I raise my brows in question. "What do you mean?" He looks at my face apologetically. "They both had wolfsbane in their guns, each shot contained an ounce of it. Enough to subdue you, but . . ." Suddenly, the hatch to the Wolf Den opens, and everyone comes inside. A collective gasp from a few of them as they rush over. "What happened?" Aunt Patty asks urgently, but it's Allison who rushes to my side quicker than everyone else. "Brom," she sighs, and I glance at her trying to make a joke as my smile gets weaker. "Guess I'm not as alright as I thought."

Aunt Patty traces the areas where Gates had been inspecting and her expression drops. "Wolfsbane."

"I guess what I thought were tranquilizers were actually filled with wolfsbane." I tell her out of breath. "It's a good thing Gates figured it out while everyone was out." They look at Gates unsure and distrustful. Even if I try to make him look less and less like the villain. "We need to get you back on that cot." Aunt Patty instructs. "I got him." Gates insists taking my arm and wrapping it around his neck as he hauls me to my feet, basically dragging me back to where I started.

Darlene comes over once I'm laid down, and places her hand over my forehead. "Your temperatures too high." She then looks back. "Thea! We need a wet towel!" I look behind her noticing how anxious Allison looks, pacing about but keeping eye contact with me the whole time. "I don't know what we can do." Darlene advises looking to everyone desperately. "The wolfsbane looks like it's already entered his bloodstream. The veins in his arms are looking deeper than normal." 

Thea comes over, placing the wet towel over my forehead, and I shudder at the coldness. "We need more blankets." She instructs. They all go off grabbing as many blankets as they can. "I thought werewolves were always warm?" Arthur asks, draping a blanket over me. "They are but not when they're exposed to wolfbane." Aunt Patty tells him, doing the same. "It's poison to them but the side effects start much slower, making it a much more painful experience. It shuts down motor functions, temperature fluctuates and it's overall deadly."

"You know I can hear you right?" I tell them, bursting into a coughing fit. "So, what can we do?" Allison demands standing beside me, whilst Dirk tucks me in. "Keep him warm as much as possible, his muscles become weaker the longer the wolfbane is in the system."
"Guys . . . " I plead. "We won't let you go cold on us." Rex insists, dropping off more blankets with his brother and sister. "Not after the trouble you've put us in."